Reply With QuoteOld ones that tick.
I never really cared about watches until a couple of years ago. I needed something robust for work, something easy to live with, liked the idea of a mechanical watch over an endless stream of cheap quartz Casios, so in the end settled on the Seiko Orange Monster. Yeah, its a cliché, but it still gets worn more than any other watch I have, I love it dearly.
Then I discovered Seiko's 5 range, there is one that can make a decent stab at carrying off any occasion there and alongside the Monster, I have now a little bunch of four 5s, all costing 50 quid or less. And probably 7 or 8 other watches too but none of those are really grabbing me.
So, I got thinking about what I'm actually collecting. I really like nice clean dress watches, but only one of the Seikos is a rough approximation of that. So I think I'm collecting Seikos right now, my next purchase is an SKX009 which will take me to 6 of that brand. I have little interest in the ownership of even one Rolex or Omega right now, I'm happy with my growing band of tidy Seikos.
What are you collecting then? Divers? Rolexes? Japanese? Dress watches? Just whatever takes your fancy at the time?
Old ones that tick.
Anything that ticks and I like the look of.
Last edited by xenon; 3rd March 2014 at 17:12.
no, nothing specific
I buy what I like
not a specific theme.
I have cheap and expensive watches
from 37mm to 57.5mm
dresswatches and sportswatches
complicated and simple
ceramic, titanium, stell, yellow and red gold, platinum, composite
vintage and new
several different brands
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Last edited by Bruno.M; 3rd March 2014 at 16:50.
My tastes and interests have changed as I have progressed (or should it be degenerated). Divers, dress, dressy divers, vintage quartz, modern quartz, G-Shock, and so on. Ultimately I have to say that I pursue what takes my fancy.
Mechanical and ideally with no day / date displays or subdials
Narrows things down a bit
I collect:
steel
precious metal
chronos
divers
vintage
modern
light dial
dark dial
cheap
expensive
triple dates
annual calendars
perpetual
anything but quartz really
I've got a serious case of vintage and modern Seiko's.
I don't think there's a cure.
When I get a collection going, I plan to collect hand wound pieces. Something about it being so manual really appeals.
Whatever takes my fancy really, although I don't like gold watches (or anything gold for that matter) or plastic ones, generally.
Each to their own, of course, but I really don't see the point of having five or six near identical watches.
I guess, for some, the devil's in the detail
M.
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Here are two of my latest acquisitions...
I haven't taken a pic of today's arrival yet but it's one of these...
Can you spot the 'theme'?
They're just so bloody accessible, aren't they? Damn Seiko and their vast array of reasonably priced watches.Originally Posted by Jim W
Pretty varied - mostly toolish / functional
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
Blimey... You must have a big collection!
Mechanical Chronographs but Lord only knows why as I rarely use the chrono function! Occasionally boil an egg or leave the car in a 30 mins or 1 hour zone and that's about it! Valjoux, Venus,etc, etc. Why do I waste my money! Now look what you have done with your question! :)
Trying to build a collection that vaguely suits any occasion - so a dress, sports, a vintage, a 'business' watch etc and thinking of other excuses.
Anything I like so long as it ticks. But if it didn't tick I wouldn't like it, so anything I like will do.
Last edited by java; 3rd March 2014 at 19:50.
Afraid not (yet). It was just me clumsily trying to say that I don't really have a type. I like pretty much everything. It's always a specific watch that speaks to me, rather than a type. I've tried the whole brand/type/complication as a limiting factor, but all it does is limit my enjoyment. So I just buy what I like.
Mostly divers,especially Seiko
Predominantly Omegas (vintage and early 2000s), with a couple of Rolexes. Mainly dress watches, several gold and bicolour.
Despite not being a big fan of sports watches I still own 3 divers and 2 chronos! However, 3 of those are bicolour so that makes 'em OK!
It's the ubiquitous black dial/steel diver thing I`ve gone off.....they all look pretty much alike really and most of them are too big for my liking.
Paul
Lots of Seikos.....mainly divers..........then after that, whatever type or brand my wallet can stretch to :-)
Always drawn to divers. Like others but they don't wow me like divers do
Big black faced divers that ( squeaky whiny voice on ) 'all look the same to me' apparently ...
Cheers..
Jase
I`ll sell you one if you like....special price to you.
They do all look alike at a glance, you know they do.
Paul
i buy all sorts of different types as i always like the look of them in the pictures but after wearing them for a few days the only things that seem to end up staying are black faced divers
Plenty of black dials in my collection, too many in fact.
Aqua Terra, Explorer 1, vintage 18ct gold Seamaster, Speedy, Seamaster Pro (black bond), bicolour pre-bond Seamaster Pro. Bought a Datejust several years ago with a white dial.....that got swapped to black. Keep saying I`ll swap it back for a change but I never do.
Paul
I like to have a variety of watch styles available to choose from including diver/sports, chrono, pilot, business and dress. I don't think too much about which to wear on any given day and am now aware that my choice is more unconsciously determined by my prevailing mood. It is only when I notice that I havent worn say a diver in ages that I realise my tastes might have evolved.
Hell, its only wrist adornment and unless it is enjoyable, what is the point.
I have just realised that there is one consistent quality to my collection however. I really don't care for pretentious watches with 'attitude'.
I like the way Seiko are brave with their design choices, even though I dislike most of it. I also like the lightness of touch which Nomos seem to convey.
Most of ny watches are 70s, all are mechanical*, most have black dials... but I have other styles and vintages. I am eclectic... or something :)
* Hummers are mechanical - it is decreed.
SS Divers for me, preferably mechanical but I do own one quartz model.
This week military watches, next week who knows!
I am getting more and more into stricly Japanese autos myself and my latest "niche" is the 24 hour dials/sub-hand ones. Such as the Alpinist and 3 more similar models from Orient/Citizen. But I do also have 3 that would qualify more as dressy.
Absolutely love Orient in general and about 65% of my collection (slightly over 10 pieces) are Orients. I started with cheaper models and slowly started replacing them with Orient Star models, the equivalent of SARBxxx in the Orient world, in fact some are better finished IMHO.
I also very much like the Power Reserve models which are plenty in Orient's lineup and I find myself missing the PR indicator on the non-PR models such as my Seikos, especially since I'm a bad flipper, both in terms of lifetime of watches in my collection but also in terms of staying on my wrists, I keep going through at least 2 per week which can make it challenging when you have mainly autos and hate the idea of putting them on a winder like I do.
Although, lately, mainly because of time or better said lack of I feel my collection has matured a bit and for the first time there's at least 3-4 models which I find it very difficult to think I'd let go of. And with my goal of reaching a final count of 7 watches ( I found I like that number), it leaves little wiggling room, at least until some major change in my finances that will make me start the hunt all over again.
I'm no collector, but a wearer... So i have just a couple watches, not more than five or six.
Only vintage, and i prefer them used. No NOS or mint watches for me.
Mostly Rolex, Rolex Tudor and Omega.
Best! Glenn
Russian stuff. Mainly Vostoks and 3133 chronographs. I thought I'd have moved on by now but there's still too much rare stuff out there that I really want... Oh, and for some unknown reason, Eternas and Titonis. There's really no logic in it.
Divers for me
Divers mainly, can't help it
Why, you Sir are my kind of man. This is exactly what I tell my wife
When I started off it was vintage Omegas, my Dad reckoned it was a good idea to stick with one maker, otherwise the choice would be overwhelming.....that was probably 10 years ago. Now, suitably overwhelmed, I buy anything that takes my fancy (within a budget), but steering clear of gold cases (too ostentatious for my taste and hate to see wear pattern) and quartz (I like the excitement of never knowing the exact time!).
Not too much logic to my "collecting strategy" in the early days
No matter how sensible each purchase felt like at the time the feeling was usually short lived and was followed quickly by "what did I do that for"!
There seems to be a few themes; the three main ones being 70`s, Omega`s and "I`m sure someone else would like this"
A couple of months ago I decided a Speedmaster would definitely be my next purchase - so on Saturday I bought a stopwatch !!
As with many others, I just aim for whatever I like but I try to go for a watch in each broad "category" (dress, vintage, modern, iconic, complication, etc). Of course since many watches are so different, it's really just a justification exercise whenever I see something I like, such as "I think I need a specific X within Y category".
Divers because there so interesting ,there's some really nice ones out there if you have the dosh .
Submariners. The collection is currently at one. Soon to be two with a bit of luck.
Primarily divers.
seikomatic only automatic..
I'd never really thought about it before, but it's sports watches. I seem to have 5 chronos and 3 divers.
Only 1 dress watch which was a gift from my parents 25 years ago, and randomly 1 skeleton watch that I've only worn twice since buying 2 years ago, so really ought to be in SC!
It sounds obvious, but simply 'ones I'll wear' these days. A huge cull from 40 or so down to maybe 15 is ongoing and I'm really happy with the results.
I now look at a watch and think 'will I wear it and when' and I'm amazed at what I've talked myself out of!
i don't think i am a collector nor do i have a collection? I have absolutely no direction or focus, i just buy whatever i like and can afford with my spare funds. Looking at the watches i have now, i think i tend to prefer divers..
A watch for each occasion... Dress, Casual etc etc
So many divers! I got the divers bug relaively recently.
I only have two at the moment:
Seiko 6105-8110
Seiko SBGA031 Spring Drive
Now I'm hooked and looking to add to my divers, and other interesting Seiko's.
There is no real theme to my collection any more. I just keep the watches that I like and tend to wear every now and then. These seem to be predominantly (a) sports watches, (b) with black dials, (c) on steel bracelets, (d) vintage, and (e) at a minimum they retain their value. But I'm always open to different stuff...
I'm not sure my collection of watches counts as a watch collection - I've got a G-Shock, couple of autos and couple of hand wind; diver, dress, functional.
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